July 13, 2009

Recently in a survey of 4500 hotel owners across the world the French tourists came out as the worse tourists. They don't know foreign languages, comes across as tight-fisted and arrogant.

"It's mainly the fact that they speak little or no English when they're abroad, and they don't speak much of the local language," Expedia Marketing Director Timothee de Roux told radio station France Info.

"The French don't go abroad very much. We're lucky enough to have a country which is magnificent in terms of its landscape and culture," he said, adding that 90 per cent of French people did their traveling at home.

"So when they're on holiday they can be a bit stressed, they're not used to things, and this can lead them to be demanding in a way which could be seen as a certain arrogance."

Let's just hope that they do better with foreign tourist in their own country. My French is quite poor and after not being in France for 4 years I have a feeling I'll not understand a word. I will find out on Thursday.

But there is one thing French people are good at – clothes and dressing well. In the survey they finished third on the list for best dress sense while on holiday. Some some consolation I would say.